Developer: Namco Publisher: Namco Released:1992 Genre: Action
In America the Turbo Grafx-16 had little third party support. NEC did the best they could but the lion’s share of games for the PC Engine never reached the US. Curiously one of their few supporters were Namco. Namco brought all sorts of games to the system, from arcade ports like Splatterhouse to original titles like Final Lap Twin. Some of these could even be considered hidden gems. Samurai Ghost is not one of those games. This awful action game calls to mind China Warrior and even though it isn’t as bad as that game it isn’t far off.
I made the comparison to China Warrior but Samurai Ghost has more in common with Earnest Evans. Both games contain large poorly animated sprites that move like puppets. In this case at least the bad animation doesn’t hurt the game. While moving Kagekiyo’s upper body is perfectly stiff while only his arms and legs move. It is funny in motion but even with that Kagekiyo can perform a variety of attacks. You can attack high or low, execute a downward thrust and more importantly block attacks. In fact blocking is the most effective move in the way; assuming a defensive stance will not only destroy weaker enemies but also parry stronger ones and leave them open to attack. This simple strategy will take you far in the game.
At its best moments Samurai Ghost can be slightly entertaining. Initially most enemies will simply bum rush and die in one slash. As you progress they dodge and defend themselves, forcing you to accurately angle your attacks. But these moments are ruined by the awful hit detection. Attacks frequently miss although contact has clearly been made. This rears its head the most during the boss battles, making them especially frustrating. It only gets worse later in the game as enemies attack from all sides and your stiff movements can’t keep up. Most probably will not stay interested long enough to reach that point however.
Power-ups are few but incredibly powerful. They are so powerful they make the game tolerable. The most frequent protects you from slime and spikes but these wear out so quickly it is not worth bothering. The sword items are the true gems. These would not look out of place in Ninja Gaiden; one grants a spinning slash like that game. Another produces a massive wave that practically clears the screen. Probably the most useful one extends the reach of your slash significantly. The only problem is these items are rare and only last a few swings. If they were more common maybe Samurai Ghost would have been decent. Who am I kidding?
Even though the action is half baked Samurai Ghost throws in some platforming. I have to be honest, this is some of the laziest platforming I have witnessed in a game. Large sprites do not leave a lot of room for nuanced design and it seems to have been thrown in as an afterthought. About the only challenge comes from spawning enemies knocking you back but that isn’t an issue. There are no bottomless pits in the game, just spikes and other hazards you can easily escape. I suppose they tried but they would have been better served tightening the combat.
Samurai Ghost has a severely uneven difficulty curve. The initial stages are incredible simple if a little frustrating. The bosses are easy and enemies spawn in predictable patterns. But about a third of the way through it spikes so dramatically it is unreal. Enemies become incredible resilient and actively dodge your attacks to the point it is ridiculous. If the hit detection were worth a damn maybe it would be tolerable but it is not. If you persevere long enough to reach the end you have to put up with an insane boss rush. And if you can pass that the final boss has three forms with no break in between. If everything I just described doesn’t scare you away I don’t know what will.
I have harped on the game enough so I have to say something good. The graphics are actually pretty nice. The sprites are large and detailed; I will leave out the animation. What is most impressive are the backgrounds. Samurai Ghost has a diverse set of locales and everyone is picturesque. Even more impressive, most have at least one or two layers of scrolling which is rare for the system. And now that is the only bright spot in the game.
In Closing
Mildly decent graphics do not make good game. Samurai Ghost is a bad game all around. Avoid this one no matter how cool you think it looks. No one talks about it; let’s keep it that way.
